Entry fee increase

[Rod Birley]

I know this topic has appeared before, but I just heard today that the BRSCC have put up their entry fees. They blame the circuit owners for increasing hire charges.
In a recent article Bernie Cottrell, the club chairman, said comparitively few competitors complained about the cost of entries. Is this true or are drivers not complaining to the right people. Alternatively is everybody prepared to carry on paying increasing charges.
There is a view in some quarters that "motor racing is expensive, if you cannot afford it then don't do it". I know what I can afford but I am curious to see how others feel particularly as I am on two committees.

[Snapper Baz]

As Mr.Meldrew would say..."I don't believe it!" Surely this will be the straw that breaks the camels back? I heard from so many quarters last year that the fees were silly and now more!If they dropped the fees I'm sure the club would benefit from more entries...there's an old saying..."50% of something is better than 100% of nothing!"

[Vernon Head]

I could not keep up with the price increases so I voted with my feet, when I started racing it cost £60.00 to enter and there was prize money. Now I race Stock Cars it's not quite the same as taking Padock on the limit but it's very very good in it's own way. Its free to race and keeps me out of the wifes way.

[ss_collins]

Rod you know already my feelings on this but I can tell you I'm not doing any BRSCC stuff anymore its just too steep, nope I'm off to lydden for some SEMSEC cheap fun, real club racing. The days of brooklands are long gone and yet I don't think anybodys told em.

[DSM]

This is news to me but not totally unexpected. As for Cottrell's, statement that few complain about cost of entries, IMO that's absolute B-----ks. The fact is that everyone complains but no-one listens.
Any idea what the increase is going to be. With our budget this year a significant increase will mean we'll have to drop 1 or 2 rounds.
Entry fees are already the single biggest element of our budget and there's no way we can increase that element.
Will the BRSCC membership fee be inceasing again too? (Last year increased to about 50% more than BARC, if I remember correctly. Our membership runs out July and we'll seriously be considering moving to the BARC and one of their Championships then.
If the cost increases are down to the circuit owners, how come BARCare so much cheaper, or is that my imagination?

[RMR]

Just checked and the entry is now up at £190. Getting silly now, wouldnt mind if I got more laps in a race, but I doubt that will happen.

[nwp]

Making the same move as Veron. We used to race in modified production saloons, but entry and testing fees excessive, so will be running hotrods this year.

[PenelopePitstop]

Could it be that no ones complaining, because there just not coming out to play anym more & that is why we are getting smaller grids? Which I am sure will be used as another reason for putting prices up

[Chris Y]

I think a letter (or email) to the BRSCC would be a good idea, informing them that if they keep on this way, they'll lose out in the long run, because people will leave the BRSCC entirely, or just drop a few rounds (like DSM is suggesting).

In a typical season of 12-14 rounds, the increase will net them £60-£70, but if a competitor is forced to sit out just one round, they lose at least £165. Would a club such as the BRSCC prefer to net £60 by annoying competitors, and run the risk of then losing £165, or would it prefer to keep competitors happy, and keep more of its existing members? It's obvious to me, but then again I'm not running a club..

I'm also a member of the BARC, and they seem to have actually *lowered* their prices this year. £135 at most circuits, instead of £140 last year.. They have also been quicker in sending out regulations (possibly not the club's fault) and entry forms than the BRSCC, and seem to actually care about their members.

If the championship you were racing with did not dictate the club you joined (i.e you were free to chose whichever club), then I for one would not be joining the BRSCC.

[PenelopePitstop]

It may also be an idea to copy anything you send to the circut owners, if it is them putting up the fees we need to let them know the groundswell of public opinion against it & the reasoning behind said opinions. After all Clubs can't run events at a lost of any length of time

[Slowcoach]

Well I for one will not be doing any BRSCC races this year purely because of the cost. I had planned to supplement the Classic Thunder series with a few selected BRSCC races close to home but now shan't bother. £190 is way too much. In answer to your question Rod I think about £150 is all I am prepared to go to unless its a longer two driver race (say 1/2 or 1 hour) so I can share with a friend. Alot of people I know are doing tarmac rallying because they get so much more track time for their money. If other clubs were to move in line with the BRSCC I would find something else to do. Maybe rallying, stock cars,back to sprinting.
How much is RWYB at Santa Pod these days, a tenner, need I say more......

[DSM]

OK. Anybody got e-mail addresses for the BRSCC and circuit owners etc handy?
Interesting point aboutthe rules and regs. Got ours ( BRSCC F Honda/Single Seaters) last week. An important change from last year (making a reverse gear optional) which we had been told had been accepted, turns out not to have been altered under the regs. Further, errors in the regs. from last year, which I believe were well pointed out, and which mean not a car on the grid will comply, nor did all last year (I'll explain if anyone's interested)are still there in exactly the same way.
I get a strong feeling that the rules and regs. were given no real consideration at all. If they were, the wishes of competitors were ignored and mistakes which make the rules a nonsense were overlooked.
Perhaps staff were all engaged in calculating the rate of increase needed to offset the falling grids and increasing track costs. Why don't they sub that out to the BARC - they seem to be able to manage?

[Old Ropey]

As far as what concerns you and me DSM & P, I don't want to go to Lydden or Anglesey. Do you think there is any chance everyone would agree not to do these rounds, or others perhaps. It would save us money, send some kind of message particularly if we told BRSCC what we were doing and why and save wearing out tyres and engines for little purpose. I know that Lydden and Anglesey have their supporters, but neither compares to Oulton, Cadwell or Croft.

[Rod Birley]

I know the BARC south east have kept their own entry fees to the same as last year and done away with registration fees. They are actually offering the cheapest racing, £118 for Lydden and £100 for Silverstone Stowe. When they ran Silverstone National for the same price (at the end of November) the grids were full. I rest my case.
Try these e-mails: grant@brscc.co.uk bernard.cottrell@haynet.com. Not sure who to try at Octagon,a lot of the staff have gone, possibly robin.murphy@octagon.com. Best of luck

[Dom]

I asked a BRSCC bod at the autosport show how much entry fees would be going up this year - he said "an insignificant amount" up £40-£50 seems alot to me! especially on top of the expensive club membership, £150 championship registration, £150 transponder, plus new tyres and wheels because of rule changes...

Some of the BARC championships seemed reasonable last year with registration fees refunded after you've done several races and cheaper entries, even the 750mc was somewhat cheaper to race in if i recall, why can't the brscc do similar?

[DSM]

Hi, Mike. We,ve already ruled out Lydden even though it's one of the closest to us. Partly because we're not impressed by the ciruit or facilities so, as we're probably going to have to miss some rounds, that may as well be one.
Anglesey we quite liked last year but if everyone else was OK we'd certainly consider it.
I don't think the idea will get off the ground though. If we do something like that, we'll probably be blown out of the water for next year. We're not supposed to play a part in these decisions!
WE may well also miss BH. Again, it's close to us but there'll probably be no opportunity to test again, and it will certainly be one of the higher entry fees, shortest track time, being a short lap.
Early days yet but we'll certainly not be able to do all the rounds.
Any news about the reverse gear yet?
Thanks for the addresses Rod. I will certainly register my disappointment.

[Old Ropey]

The whole business drives me nuts. If I had the reported £6 million needed, I'd buy Cadwell and invite everyone for the price of a couple of pints.

[Old Ropey]

Peter, sorry I went off at a tangent
As far as I am aware we are stuck with the reverse gear, weird since Monoposto cars don't need it and it's not a safety issue.
Things have to change and pretty quickly, or our type of racing will disappear. My solution is for clubs to join forces and organize meetings direct with the circuits, on a strict business basis. If charges are too high go somewhere else for a better deal. It may be that the circuits make all they want from trackdays which would leave me up the creek without the proverbial paddle, but I doubt that's the case.
I gather the recently formed Association of Racing Car Clubs is little more than a talking shop and has no intention of running meetings which is a pity because it sounds like what I have in mind.
On a different subject, is it right that you made your own Stack system speed sensor? If so can you do one for me since his nibs knocked it off whilst attacking a Formula Ford.

[mattray]

The BRSCC must have a huge amount of costs to justify the amount they are charging for entry fees. The only answer I seem to have seen about it is that the circuit costs are driving them up and its been the same for years. The only way to stop them going up is to organise a national boycott but in racing this just wont happen because of the nature of it, there will always be someone who says "hang on with him/her not doing it I could win this!" so I doubt that's going to work.

I for one cant afford it anymore 300 before the entry fee is a lot of money without a sponsor its a shame but I cant see the trend reversing because there will always be someone about to pay it.

I have just downloaded the entry form from the brscc web site for the first race at Brands (http://www.brscc.co.uk) and RMR is right its 190. Is Bernard Cottrell the man who makes the decisions regarding entry fees? I will write to him and find out who is if he isnt.

If the circuit costs put the entries up why not have a system whereby the more entries the less the entry fee?

Matt

[Snapper Baz]

How about getting your Championship organisor to complain on all of its entrants behalfs-maybe get them to threaten to perhaps go to another club where fees are less? If the organisor isnt willing then get your fellow championship drivers ALL to register their disaproval! Spread the word NOW.

[mattray]

Combe is owned by one of the BRSCC vice presedents, so I cant see them changing to another club.

[ss_collins]

hmm, once again action springs to mind!

[DSM]

We did make up a wheel speed sensor but it's a PI system not stack. at the end of the day they're just transducers that you can get from RS for about £20 which is better than paying about £100. you just have to determine whether it's PNP or NPN (POS/NEG) and solder on the original connection.
The reverse gear thing is a joke. The only reason it's not been changed is because nobody, amongst those who plan and approve the regs. could be bothered to even read through them. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. How else could thye allow engines from certain years but stipulate that any parts in them must be from earlier years, which wouldn't fit, and specify a rear light that is 2-3 times greater in area than anybody used last year or will this year and can't be mounted as per the regs either? (Exactly as they did last year)
Mattray, you're exactly right in your analysis of the mindset of the racer. The big question is why is the BRSCC so much more expensive than the BARC for one?

[Chris Y]

Originally posted by DSM
The big question is why is the BRSCC so much more expensive than the BARC for one?

I think that very much has to do with the amount of failures the BRSCC has had in recent years. I seem to recall them ploughing big money into the Eurocar championship, and also the Interactive Sports Cars, which mysteriously disappeared.

I'm speculating here, but I think the BRSCC are still trying to recoup their losses from those championships. Certainly none of the other clubs are giving us the 'circuits are raising their fees' spiel. I may be wrong, but I also think it's just the BRSCC that have put the prices up this year - can any 750mc / BRSC members confirm?

[DSM]

If what you say is true, does that mean they were 'gambling' the revenue from the clubbies on buying in a future money spinner?
There's another point. It's in my mind that the BRSCC is owned by Octagon. I'm not sure where I got it from but remember it from somewhere. Can anybody definitively confirm / refute?
That would explain things.